Finger pointing over loose strip club rules

The mayor’s office has put Seattle neighborhoods on notice: if strip clubs open your community, blame City Councilman Peter Steinbrueck.

In turn, Steinbrueck pointed a finger right back at Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

In the wake of voters’ Nov. 7 repeal of the city’s lap dance ban, Nickels’ office sent an email last week to neighborhood councils, Chambers of Commerce, the Downtown Seattle Association, an Aurora merchants office and others.

It reads, in part: “Our neighborhoods are left unprotected. A strip club can now be located in almost any neighborhood business district in Seattle. … Neighbors and business owners must get engaged in this process to prevent strip clubs from opening in inappropriate areas of the city.”

Because of a court ruling, the city has no strip club zoning on its books. Early this year, Nickels proposed a single zone in Sodo. Steinbrueck, who chairs the council’s land use committee, eventually rejected that proposal. He has said it will take several months to come up with a citywide zoning atlernative.

The letter sent last week by Nickels’ staff says Steinbrueck’s “lack of action is made worse by the fact that conduct limits within strip clubs, such as a four-foot rule for lap dances and increased lighting, have now been overturned.”

Steinbrueck shot back at today’s council meeting. He took issue with the characterization and said the mayor delayed his zoning proposal for years. Steinbrueck also accused city departments under Nickels of setting up road blocks. He also had a staff member run through the glacial pace at which Seattle politicos have dealt with this.

Regardless, fellow Councilman Richard Conlin said, it’s time to the two sides get on with things.
“We really need to buckle down and see if we can work something out,” Conlin said.